Finding a Church!

So, as a lot of you know... Nick and I are back on the church hunting trail again. "Shopping" for churches is my least favorite thing in the world! I actually think I even prefer bathing suit shopping to church shopping! I think the main thing is that church shopping makes me feel guitly. I feel like, if I don't like a church, that I am saying it's not good enough. I never want to judge those that God loves! But, I desperately want to find a church for our family that is in line with what we believe to be true about God, where we can be spiritually fed, where there are opportunites to get involved, where we feel welcomed and like we "fit", and with good programs for our kids. We have been to sooo many churches that offer a few of these things.

Honestly, I really miss the churches we attended in Springfield! I miss Northside and James River so much! But, I don't want to be comparing the churches here to those.

I also think Nick and I are struggling a little bit "denominationally" if that makes sense. Nick grew up going to a non-denominational church and I grew up going to Methodist and Presbyterian churches (if we went). But, we find that when we attend churches like that around here that they are lacking any zeal for the Lord. I am not trying to judge anyone! I hate even talking about this! But, we love going to churches and seeing God on the move and people filled with the holy spirit so that they basically have no choice but to radiate who God is. We just haven't found a church that feels very alive. We aren't looking for artificial excitements with like light displays and make you feel good preaching... but we are looking for a church that really celebrates that Jesus is Lord and that lives the teachings of Jesus!

We were blessed to be a part of 2 churches like this in Springfield. I was also blessed to have amazing friends that were on fire for the Lord to share life with. I think Nick and I are both really missing that. We desperately need to be a part of a church body.

Please pray that God will lead us to the church he has planned for us. Maybe even this weekend! Please pray that we will find a church that shares the truth boldly and that there would be people there who will invest in us! Thank you in advance for your prayers and for praying alongside me this past year or so as our family has gone through so many transitions! I am grateful for everyone who reads this blog, whether I know you personally or not! I am going to be a huge dork and ask if you read this post and pray for me to please leave me a comment letting me know that you did! I believe there is power in prayer and I believe that something special happens when you know people are petitioning God on your behalf! (If you don't have a blogger account feel free to leave a comment as "annonymous" and just sign your first name at the end of your message!)